Lebanon Pride Day attracts 248 volunteers

The Lebanon Rescue Department sponsored its third annual Lebanon Pride Day and Clean Up Day on Saturday.

This was the biggest year ever for the cleanup. In total, 248 volunteers signed up to clean 88 roads in town. Nearly 500 large trash bags were distributed to volunteers to clean along the roadside. Additionally, several loads of tires and large debris items were brought to the Transfer Station that were found along the way.

“We had a lot of residents at the town office waiting at 7:45 a.m. for bags and to sign up, it was a great turn out. We had to go purchase more bags which is a great thing, meaning more volunteers were cleaning up more roads. We had postponed last Saturday’s clean up due to the forecast of heavy rain, but the rain moved south of us and it was actually a decent day. A lot of families still cleaned up last Saturday and came back today to do more.” Rescue Chief Samantha Cole said.Lebanon Road Commissioner Larry Torno and several of his road crews volunteered their time and trucks to go around town and pick up the trash. They were out picking up the trash still at 4 p.m. because of the turnout. Torno and his crews have volunteered their time and gas each year of the cleanup. The rescue department thanked them for their support.Lebanon Transfer Station Manager Ronal Patch and his crews handled record amounts of trash and debris at the Transfer Station. There were a lot of residents who helped clean up that also brought the trash they collected to the Transfer Station to help. At one point, the line of cars went all the way down the access road to Merchants Row. The rescue department thanked them for their support.

Lebanon Youth Soccer Association allowed the rescue volunteers to borrow their gas grill to help cook for all the volunteers who helped clean.

The Lebanon Rescue Corporation purchased and donated all of the trash bags, gloves and also all the food for the barbecue. They donated nearly $500 worth of supplies for the events.

“It’s always a good feeling seeing a lot of families with children helping clean up the sides of the roads. The children see that littering is a bad thing and it helps them make better decisions on recycling and keeping the roads clean. We were amazed at the amount of families and groups that signed up this year and are thankful to everyone who has helped in any way to make this annual event so successful. The roads look amazing and in the three years we have done this, it has made a huge difference.” Assistant Rescue Chief Jason Cole added.

The annual event is held around the same week as Earth Day.

All of the volunteers were invited back to the Lebanon Town Office building for a free barbecue. Volunteers were treated to hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and beverages.Both ambulances and the command truck had to clear to respond to medical calls, but several other rescue volunteers helped BBQ and hand out supplies.“We also do this event during National Volunteer Appreciation Week as a way to show the community the benefits of volunteering and helping their community. We are so fortunate to have wonderful volunteers in all of the town departments and today the community came together to volunteer to make the roads a lot cleaner and to get ready for a busy summer of visitors to our community for our many different recreational activities.” Jason Cole said.

“We would love to recognize everyone who helped, but with nearly 250 people who signed up to help, there isn’t enough room! We would like to recognize Sylvia Morris on Long Swamp Road who had 40 bags of trash that she cleaned up herself along the sides of the road. The road crews stopped to thank her, as you can really tell a difference in the roads thanks to people like this. Also thank you to the Lebanon Girl Scouts and all of the Boy Scouts who helped today as well.” Jason Cole added.